Golvellius: Valley of Doom

1988 · Action-Adventure · Sega Master System

Overview

Golvellius: Valley of Doom (1988) is Compile's Master System action-adventure, in which Kelesis fights through eight guarded regions of a valley to rescue Princess Rena.

Deep Dive

Princess Rena has gone into the Valley of Doom to find a rare herb to cure her father, the king, and the swordsman Kelesis goes in after her. Most of the game is top-down sword combat across eight regions, each guarded by a boss that must be defeated before moving on. Secret chambers hidden around the valley open to give advice, better equipment and items, and underground caverns switch between side-scrolling and top-down views on the way to each boss. The final area opens only once every boss has fallen.

Developer Story

Compile first released Golvellius on the MSX in Japan in April 1987. Sega licensed it in 1988 and published an enhanced version, with new graphics and different layouts, for the Master System in Japan that August and in North America in December.

Did You Know?

Golvellius himself turns out to be a good creature possessed by a demon, who joins Kelesis after his defeat; the sequel the ending implies was never made.
Computer and Video Games scored the Master System version 87% in 1989.